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Emissaries, allies, accomplices and enemies: married women's work in eighteenth-century urban Sweden

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2013

MARIA ÅGREN
MARIA ÅGREN*
Affiliation:
Historiska Institutionen, Uppsala Universitet, Box 628, 751 26 Uppsala, Sweden
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Abstract

Based on so-called Excise court records, this article argues that in eighteenth-century urban Sweden much of middling women's work took place in the interstices between households, as ‘help’ given to other women, often across social divides. These forms of work are often difficult to track in the historical records and, consequently, they have remained unnoticed, creating the erroneous picture that women did not contribute to their households through paid work. The lack of attention to these kinds of work has also overemphasized the closed character of early modern households which were, in fact, both flexible and permeable units.

Type
Research Article
Information
Urban History , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , August 2014 , pp. 394 - 414
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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References

1 Örebro Accisrätt, capsule ‘1744–1749’, Uppsala Landsarkiv. The documents from this court are in a somewhat disordered state and the exact year is sometimes unclear. See also Örebro Rådhusrätt och magistrat, D 2 A, ‘Förteckning över näringsidkare’, vol. 1, Uppsala Landsarkiv, which shows that Hans Ekelöf was an officially acknowledged public house owner. He also held the public office of ‘järndragare’ which involved control of iron to be shipped from town.

2 On husbands screening the rest of the household in the sources, see also Walker, G., Crime, Gender and Social Order in Early Modern England (Cambridge, 2008), 12Google Scholar; on the discrepancy between the ideological picture of households and households in practice, see Amussen, S.D., An Ordered Society. Gender and Class in Early Modern England (Oxford, 1988)Google Scholar, and Evans, T., ‘Women, marriage and the family’, in Barker, H. and Chalus, E. (eds.), Women's History: Britain, 1700–1850 (London and New York, 2005)Google Scholar.

3 This study is part of the Uppsala-based research project ‘Gender and work in early modern Sweden’; see Fiebranz, R.et al., ‘Making verbs count: the research project “Gender and work” and its methodology’, Scandinavian Economic History Review, 59 (2011), 273–93CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

4 Tadmor, N., ‘The concept of the household-family in eighteenth-century England’, Past and Present, 151 (1996), 111–40CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Vickery, A., ‘An Englishman's home is his castle? Thresholds, boundaries and privacies in the eighteenth-century London house’, Past and Present, 199 (2008), 147–73CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Hardwick, J., Family Business: Litigation and the Political Economies of Daily Life in Early Modern France (Oxford, 2009)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Eibach, J., ‘Das offene Haus. Kommunikative Praxis im sozialen Nahraum der europäischen Frühen Neuzeit’, Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung, 38 (2011), 621–64CrossRefGoogle Scholar. See also Simonton, D., A History of European Women's Work 1700 to the Present (London and New York, 1998), 69Google Scholar.

5 A methodologically pioneering study was Vainio-Korhonen, K., ‘Handicrafts as professions and sources of income in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Turku (Åbo): a gender viewpoint to economic history’, Scandinavian Economic History Review, 48 (2000), 40–63CrossRefGoogle Scholar. See also Fiebranz, R., Jord, linne eller träkol? Genusordning och hushållsstrategier, Bjuråker 1750–1850 (Uppsala, 2002)Google Scholar, for an important contribution about a rural area, and Ojala, K., ‘Opportunity or compulsion? Domestic servants in urban communities in the eighteenth century’, in Karonen, P. (ed.), Hopes and Fears for the Future in Early Modern Sweden, 1500–1800 (Helsinki, 2009)Google Scholar, for urban domestic work. Early contributions to the field were Österberg, E., ‘Bonde eller bagerska? Vanliga svenska kvinnors ekonomiska ställning under senmedeltiden: Några frågor och problem’, and K. Stadin, ‘Den gömda och glömda arbetskraften: Stadskvinnor i produktionen under 1600- och 1700-talen’, both in Historisk Tidskrift, 100 (1980), 281–97Google Scholar and 298–319. See also Pihl, Ch., Arbete. Skillnadsskapande och försörjning i 1500-talets Sverige (Uppsala, 2012)Google Scholar.

6 Hunt, M.R., The Middling Sort: Commerce, Gender, and the Family in England 1680–1780 (Berkeley, 1996)Google Scholar, chs. 3 and 5; Hunt, M.R., Women in Eighteenth-Century Europe (Harlow, 2010)Google Scholar, ch. 5; van den Heuvel, D., Women and Entrepreneurship: Female Traders in the Northern Netherlands, c. 1580–1815 (Amsterdam, 2007)Google Scholar; van der Heijden, M. and Schmidt, A., ‘Public service and women's work in early modern Dutch towns’, Journal of Urban History, 36 (2010), 368–85CrossRefGoogle Scholar, gives interesting examples of how Dutch municipal authorities created jobs as public servants for women; Erickson, A.L., ‘Married women's occupations in eighteenth-century London’, Continuity and Change, 23 (2008), 267–307CrossRefGoogle Scholar, shows that married women's work rates were higher than suggested by Peter Earle in 1989; Laurence, A., Maltby, J. and Rutterford, J. (eds.), Women and their Money 1700–1950 (London and New York, 2009)Google Scholar; van den Heuvel, D. and Ogilvie, S., ‘Retail development in the consumer revolution: The Netherlands, c. 1670 – c. 1815’, Explorations in Economic History, 50 (2013), 69–87CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Barker, H., The Business of Women: Female Enterprise and Urban Development in Northern England, 1760–1830 (Oxford, 2006)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Phillips, N., Women in Business, 1700–1850 (Woodbridge, 2006)Google Scholar; Corfield, P.J., ‘Business leaders and town gentry in early industrial Britain: specialist occupations and shared urbanism’, Urban History, 39 (2012), 20–50CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Barker, Phillips and Corfield all show that women were more involved in business than previously thought, and that their work underwent a process of specialization and diversification. Trade directories have proved particularly useful in British research but this type of source is not available for early modern Sweden.

7 Ogilvie, S., A Bitter Living: Women, Markets, and Social Capital in Early Modern Germany (Oxford, 2003)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. See also Hunt, Women, 187–8, for a discussion of the effects of guilds, and 170–2, for a general discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of market relations for women.

8 No full-scale history of Örebro has been written to date. This brief characterization relies on my ongoing work (to be published, eventually, as a monograph). The characterization is based on documents from the Excise court, the Kämnärs court, the Hall court, and the Magistracy court of eighteenth-century Örebro.

9 In this respect, Sweden differed from England where the administration of excise was kept separate from that of customs.

10 These numbers are according to Tabellverket, the eighteenth-century precursor of what is today Statistiska Centralbyrån (Statistics Sweden). Sven Lilja estimates the size of the population as somewhat lower: around 2,000 in 1750, and around 3,000 in 1800. Stockholm, by comparison, had approximately 7,000 inhabitants in 1750, Gothenburg approximately 10,000, and Uppsala approximately 3,500. Lilja, S., Historisk Tätortsstatistik del 2. Städernas folkmängd och tillväxt. Sverige (med Finland) ca 1570-tal till 1810-tal (Stockholm, 1996)Google Scholar.

11 I have chosen to translate this title ‘regional governor’ rather than ‘county governor’ since a Swedish ‘län’ was generally much larger than an English county.

12 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 859.

13 See also Hunt, Women, 169–70, 176–7, who also points out that it was a common task for women to carry things.

14 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 621ff.

15 Örebro Accisrätt, capsule ‘1752–1819’.

16 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 1743, date unclear (probably before 23 Jun.).

17 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 190 (year unclear).

18 Örebro Accisrätt, capsule ‘1752–1819’, 9 Oct. 1755.

19 Cf. Vainio-Korhonen, K., ‘Everyday politics: power relations of urban female servants in the Finnish city of Turku in the 1780s’, in Simonton, D. and Montenach, A. (eds.), Female Agency in the Urban Economy: Gender in European Towns, 1640–1830 (London and New York, 2013)Google Scholar. Here, the author argues that maid servants in Turku were not particularly visible in the streets.

20 M. Ågren, ‘Another process of state formation. Swedish customs officials, their work and households’, forthcoming in Cultural and Social History.

21 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 183–4. Other examples of servants being charged with the task of paying excise on 376 and 435v.

22 Örebro Accisrätt, capsule ‘1752–1819’, 12 Dec. 1753 (author's italics).

23 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 201, 20 Aug. 1745 (author's italics).

24 Örebro Accisrätt, capsule ‘1744–49’ (2 Jun. 1748). For a similar case, see Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 58–9.

25 See, e.g., Örebro Accisrätt, capsule ‘1744–49’.

26 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 201, 20 Aug. 1745.

27 Örebro Rådhusrätt och magistrat, F 2 vol. 12, probate inventories no. 2 and 45. ‘Slottsbokhållare’ = castle clerk.

28 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 331. The royal statute of customs and excise 1756 chapter I § 11 stipulated that customs and excise be paid in cash.

29 Maza, S., Servants and Masters in Eighteenth-Century France: The Uses of Loyalty (Princeton, 1984) 12Google Scholar, 30, 36–8, 54–5, 112, 191, 273.

30 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 23 Jun. 1743.

31 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 499–500v, 2 Nov. 1749.

32 Ch. T. Lewis and Ch. Short, A Latin Dictionary, ‘puer’, II B 2, www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dpuer (accessed 10 Dec. 2012).

33 See also Ågren, ‘Another process of state formation’.

34 Örebro Kämnärsrätt, A 1 vol. 14, 1757–64 (no date, 1758), Uppsala Landsarkiv. The reason why this information was disclosed was that a thief had broken into the house and stolen Brita Stina's money.

35 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 362.

36 Örebro Accisrätt, capsule ‘1752–1819’, c. 1754.

37 Örebro Accisrätt, capsule ‘1744–49’.

38 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 606 (1765), 671 (1766), 791 (1779).

39 Hunt, Women, 168.

40 Personella Berättelser 1773, Överdirektören vid lanttullen, Huvudarkivet, Inkomna handlingar, Riksarkivet, Stockholm.

41 Amussen, An Ordered Society, 66–7, 111.

42 Hunt, Women, 175.

43 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 200.

44 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 58–9.

45 S. Ling, ‘I sitt anletes svett – om försörjningsmöjligheter och arbetsflit ur ett genusperspektiv i Stockholm ca 1650–1750’, unpublished paper 2012.

46 Örebro Rådhusrätt och magistrat, 11 Feb. 1756; Örebro Hallrätt 1742–1846, p. 904 (c. 1742), Uppsala Landsarkiv; Hedlund, R., Västerås befolkning vid slutet av 1600-talet. En socialhistorisk studie (Uppsala, 1980), 92Google Scholar, 120, 196.

47 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 329 (20 Mar. 1746).

48 Catharina Lenbom was almost certainly married to stadsskrivare Gustaf Lenbom. In the Excise court records, she is referred to as ‘secreterskan madame Lenbom’ (380).

49 On the social ideal that married women should not be seen working in Britain, see Davidoff, L. and Hall, C., Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class 1780–1850 (London and New York, 2002)Google Scholar, 24, 136–9, 188, 195, 264, 267–9. This argument has been challenged, for instance, by Barker, Business of Women, ch. 3.

50 Örebro Rådhusrätt och magistrat, F II vol. 5 fol. 124 (1735).

51 Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 380 (3 Oct. 1746?).

52 More quantitative evidence will hopefully be possible to present when the ‘Gender and work’ project has been completed.

53 Lanträntmästare worked in the regional state administration and was a treasurer, in charge of the state's liquid means.

54 Örebro Rådhusrätt och magistrat, A I a, vol. 15, 12 May 1690.

55 Smith, W., Studier i svensk tulladministration. Första delen: Från äldsta tid till omkring 1718 (Stockholm, 1950), 276Google Scholar, 280.

56 For Örebro, see Ågren, ‘Another process of state formation’, and M. Ågren, ‘Tidigmoderna missförstånd?’, to be published in a festschrift in honour of Jan Lindegren, 2014. For Helsingborg, see Fagerlund, S., Handel och vandel. Vardagslivets sociala struktur ur ett kvinnoperspektiv. Helsingborg ca 1680–1709 (Lund, 2002), 79–80Google Scholar, 136, 144, 221.

57 Smith, Studier i svensk tulladministration, 126, 287.

58 Örebro Kämnärsrätt A 1 no. 14, Feb. 1764, (no pagination). The theft of silk cloth was also brought to the attention of the Excise court: Örebro Accisrätt, vol. A no. 1, 541v–544v (1 Feb. 1764).

59 See also Walker, Crime, Gender, 164–7, for similar networks in early modern England.

60 Örebro Kämnärsrätt A 1 no. 14, Feb. 1764 (no pagination).

61 Örebro Kämnärsrätt A 1 no. 14, 27 Mar. 1764 (no pagination).

62 Örebro Kämnärsrätt A 1 no. 14, Feb. 1764 (no pagination).

63 Hunt, Women, 178.

64 See Fagerlund, Handel och vandel, 157–62, 222, for a nuanced discussion of what the word hora (whore) meant around 1700. Fagerlund argues that, depending on the context, hora could mean both whore and thief or liar.

65 Walker, Crime, Gender, 12; Fagerlund, Handel och vandel, 229.

66 For more information on the salaries of Swedish early modern customs officials, see Ågren, ‘Another process of state formation’.